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Hercules Finds Little Hope In NBC’s LIFE!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
I am – Hercules!!
“Life” is a crime drama, from writer-producer Rand Ravich (“The Astronaut’s Wife”), about LAPD detective Charlie Crews (Britisher Damian Lewis, “Dreamcatcher”), who spent 11 years in prison for three murders he didn’t commit. He discovered zen. He was proven innocent, set free and given millions in settlement money. Now he’s back on the force solving crime and trying to figure out who framed him.
Sarah Shahi, the hot little Iranian/Spaniard from Euless, Texas, who played the Latina lesbian on “L Word,” assays Crews’ partner. Brooke Langdon is hot also as Crews’ lawyer. Adan Arkin is less hot as Crews’ fellow ex-con, financial advisor and tenant.
The last and least of NBC’s four new fall shows, “Life” is too much like too many other NBC/Universal procedurals to take seriously. It’s also on during “South Park,” “The Sarah Silverman Program” and “Dirty Sexy Money,” so it’s doubtful I’ll ever see another episode.
USA Today gives it one and a half stars (out of four) and says:
… Strip away the abrasive flourishes, and what's left is a standard-issue TV mystery with cases that are too easy to solve and internal conflicts and conspiracies that make no sense. …
The New York Times says:
… The narrative structure of the show is incredibly satisfying: During each hour a crime is committed and solved, as Charlie’s search for who might have framed him provides the overriding arch, satisfying our short attention spans and taste for long-form narrative at once. Tonally, though, “Life” feels as a musical version of a Thomas Harris novel might.
The Los Angeles Times says:
… NBC's new drama "Life" is the sort of show that makes a person want to write things that will be picked up for ad copy. Like: "If you only watch one new show this fall, watch 'Life.' " Or: "Terrific cast, terrific writing, and even when simply eating a pear, Damian Lewis sets a whole new standard for the broken hero genre." Not for the ad, but because they're true. And since "Life" has gotten zero buzz, there's a chance it will have a hard time finding an audience. Which would be terrible, since it promises to be such a great show. …
The Chicago Tribune says:
… basically takes the "Law" part of the "Law & Order" format and slathers on a high-gloss coating of Zen musings. Speaking of that NBC procedural standby, "Life" recalls a mid-period "Law & Order" episode -- mildly satisfying, but pretty formulaic. …
The Washington Post says:
… a hard-to-swallow pill about a wrongly convicted cop … the show hasn't even started yet and we're yawning already. …
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
… Just dreadful enough to want to shoot yourself …
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
… pretty lifeless … In tonight's premiere, Crews is a quirky character who's borderline annoying. His tweaky nature gets toned down by the second episode that features a pretty routine murder case that's as obvious as it is unimaginative. … "Life," created by screenwriter Rand Ravich ("The Astronaut's Wife"), wants to be a character study of what prison does to the wrongfully accused, but it gets bogged down by so many procedural elements that all the character moments get squished and forced out around the edges, resulting in an uninteresting blob of an overly familiar TV show.
The Milwuakee Journal-Sentinel says:
… "Life" just doesn't add up. The British Lewis, who was superb in PBS' "The Forsyte Saga" and HBO's "Band of Brothers," is especially disappointing - but bringing this series to life is probably more than even an actor of his skills could manage.…
The Mimai Herald says:
… In a bombastic season full of vampires and demons and corpse-curers, Life is an oddity, an anti-hero cop show that features neither car chases nor geek ex machina superscience. It depends almost entirely on the interplay between its two seriously damaged lead characters -- and Lewis and Sarah Shahi (The L Word), who plays Dani, make it work. The continuing collision between his prison-bred eccentricities and her impatient ambition is often hilarious and always captivating. …
The Boston Herald says:
… “Life” isn’t a bad show. As a procedural, it’s not taxing. It’s more about the personal journey, or as Charlie would say, of being in the moment with these characters. It just seems a poor fit for a major commercial network.
The Boston Globe says:
… why do I fear that, despite all its pluses, this show is not long for the world? For one thing, as good as Lewis is, Charlie may be too strange for mainstream consumption. He's a hard character to understand, although I am certain that, ultimately, he is understandable. And then with the TV lineups so dense with cop shows, "Life" may not have a flashy enough gimmick to attract viewers in the first place. …
Variety says:
… a gritty, off-the-wall drama that dabbles in the deep and the deadpan … thoroughly watchable …
The Hollywood Reporter says:
… a charismatic and quirky central character who is both unpredictable and impossible to pigeonhole. Given a chance to develop, Detective Charlie Crews could someday take a place with the likes of Kojak, Columbo and Monk. …
10 p.m. Wednesday. NBC.
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and not proud of it!
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Herc, the titles you associate with actors always strikes me as odd, because it's absolutely never their best work or what they are known for...come on now, for Lewis you've GOT to go with "Band of Brothers" man!
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Easily the most boring pilot i've seen - i only made it half way through. Shame I like Damian Lewis but this is DOA !! ( see what i did there ? )
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that will ultimately be cancelled within two seasons, if not sooner.
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It wasn't great, but it was good and reminded me of Touching Evil, another quirky procedural that didn't get a fair shake and was canceled before its time.
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Herc told me all I needed to know about this show in his first sentence. As soon as anyone tells me a project is from the writer/producer of The Astronaut's Wife, which pulled off the nearly unheard of feat of starring two Oscar nominees and still sucking harder than about anything I've ever seen...well, that's when I reach for the remote.
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God forbid any network mix the characteristics of "house" and add to it a serious drive for revenge and vindication. I thought this was the best of the 4 new NBC shows..which chuck coming in a close second.
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Yeah, the pilot's "case" was pretty lame. But I like the characters. Didn't enjoy it as much as Chuck, but thought it was much better than Journeyman Bionic Woman, which sucked IMHO.
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I think Herc does stuff like that intentionally because he thinks it's funny. Too bad he doesn't realize that the purpose of listing credits is to let the reader know who the actor is and I'm pretty sure more people have seen Band of Brothers than have seen Dreamcatcher. Herc does his readers and the actors a disservice by doing stuff like that.
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I could only sit through ten minutes of this before I dismissed it as a "House" ripoff in the police setting. Take a fine British actor and give him an American accent..check..give him a checkered past..check..make him the smartest person in the room AND quirky..check...no thanks.
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during the pilot there are several scenes where he is dramatically looking into nothingness....and he looks just like a velociraptor from JP?
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Are then any leading American Actors on TV these days? Dexter starts this sunday, and its the best show of this genre. This show sounds just like Burn Notice, which was better then it had right to be. But i was too dumb to realize that Burn Notice was pretty much a huge rip off of Dexter. Dexter is the best though.
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It's up against one of the CSI shows which will clearly win the night, but there's really nothing else. Should pull in decent numbers, no?
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Since I can't afford those premium channels, and have just started catching up on Dexter on DVD. How is Burn Notice a rip on Dexter, outside of the Florida locations? BTW...yes, Dexter is excellent..
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Its about a guy with a speciality (Dexter = Serial Killer/Blood Guy), Michael Westen (Spy). So the whole show Michael Westen is trying to find out who Burned him, Dexter is trying to find out who this big serial killer is. And inbetween they solve little cases with there skills. They have distant girlfriends, and good buddies. And during the whole show they will tell you little antedotes about being a spy or a serial kill/blood guy. PLUS they are both set in Miami. Also both of them act very dry and don't know enjoy what everyone else does. Plus they both have a light tone about everything thats going on.
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I actually liked this show, unfortunately, this wont last a full season, but Ill watch it till it gets the axe.
I thought this was a much tighter pilot than the mediocre Bionic Women and others. -
Whoa! so we're accusing "Life" of being a rip off of other more "successful" shows, but "The Bionic Woman" is a fantastic original concept? PUHLEEZE! I got the DVD from Lackluster Video and watched: Chuck, Journeyman, Life, and about all I could stand of The Bionic Woman (the DVD only includes 10 minutes). I think the problem here is that this site is really for people "on the fringe of cinematic art". It's a TV show that attempts to combine all of the characteristics of other successful shows. ie, CSI and Law & Order (for the 1 hour crime drama), House (for the quirky lead character), Heroes (a guy developing his "power"[the ability to use what he's learned in prison] and using it to his advantage), and Lost and Prison Break (something bad happened and eventually we'll find out who's behind it and how this guy will deal with it). I say kudos to the show for trying to manipulate the strengths of other shows to create a show that can be readily enjoyed in a single viewing while also driving a "mysterious" plot line that long term viewers can invest in. Hell, even CSI started doing extended story lines to catch up with the TV trends (miniature killer anyone?). I'm just sayin' Get your head out of the comics, or Fangoria, or your copy of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show, or your AVP figurine collection and wake up to the reality of TV...um...mainstream TV.
PS: O'Doyle Rules! -
Michael Westen has to freelance his skills in detective jobs he picks up as he tries to uncover who burned him, while the agency is trying to keep tabs on him. Dexter works for the police department under no suspicion, and freelances his skills tracking down and murdering serial killers unchecked by justice. Westen assumes indentities to get close to the "bad guys" to accomplish his set-up/sting. Dexter admits he assumes an identity daily, just to get through life as a "normal" person. And most important Dexter may be a bit insane, or at least a sociopath.
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Yeah those difference maybe stopped from seeing that they are pretty much the same show at first. But the basic concept and format of the show is almost identical. Who cares where he gets his episode to episode jobs. Of course their setup has to be different. I am talking about the premise. Distant girlfriend, telling the audience little tricks they use, solving a new case every episode while there is the big underlying one, they both have the same dry demoner. Granted Dexter's commentary seems more like you are hearing his thoughts, but for the most part its. A blood guy knows this, and a serial killer will do that. Burn Notice is a less complex version of Dexter (hence its on USA). Plus come on they are both set in Miami and talk about it ALL the time.
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Mixed reviews. This sounds like a show that'll probably hit its stride halfway through the second season. If it gets there. If there's a cool idea for a show - and this is a cool idea - and if it shows some potential.. well, lots of shows stumble out of the gate before becoming solid. Last season's HEROES was one. So was THE OFFICE.
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This show was by far my favorite of all of the pilots taht were elaked onto the Usenet this summer. With so many West Wing alums working behind the scenes and producers/writers/directors, this really has the promise of being an intelligent, quirky, nuanced show. I especially love the idea of combining a procedural with interesting characters that I actually care about, with elements of a long-form mythology. I wish that this show had more buzz, but it feels like NBC isn't really as behind it as they are with their Sci-Fi offerings. Too bad.
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you have me at a disadvantage. I didn't think the ice truck killer would be an overriding arc for the entire season or series. But as mentioned above the overriding arc has been used often before (CSI,Buffy,Angel,Lost,etc.), and "detective" shows and movies use voiceover as a device to help us identify with the main character, and to sometimes clue us in as to whats going on. I think both shows share traits common to their genre (lone wolf fighting crime), as opposed to outright copying. I think Burn Notice is centered in Miami just to give the producers an excuse to show stock footage of babes in bikinis...as you said it is a USA network show.
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WTF is wrong with you, Herc! Seriously! You give Bionic Woman a pass, but THIS you won't watch again?!?!? Wow, Herc, I USED to think you had some taste, but obviously I was wrong.
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You're dead-on in your analysis of Life, Journeyman, Chuck, (all great) and the Bionic Woman (a fuckin' horrendous POS), but don't base your opinons of everybody here on Herc's review. He has absolutely no taste.
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I liked it, the characters aren't caricatures and the writing is pretty snappy, especially for a pilot. I was intrigued. Given a chance I think this could really last but no shows are given a chance on network television these days, executives don't have the guts to stand behind anything that isn't a runaway success from the first minute it's on.
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I'll try it though.
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Not as good as Dexter.
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They do these documentary style interviews and shaky cam close ups, then follow it up with a slick, fast car scene. what the fuck, let's decide how to tell the story.
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if i'm not mistaken that cop lady is Calamity Jane.
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I really enjoyed this. Crewes is a fucked up, multi-layered guy with weaknesses I've never seen in a cop on a cop show before. Very cool. And his Zen approach to everybody around him lying about everything left me wondering whether he'll be able to maintain what he learned in prison. Plus, Damian Lewis once again proves he's one of the best actors around.
Next week I'll skip "Bionic Woman" but tune in for "Life." -
Damian Lewis was great and I'm curious as to where they are going to take the primary story... looks like a lot of cops are involved.
yeah, the episode plot was standard, but Lewis' character made it better than average -- and his partner is hot as fuck. so was that little blond he was banging at his house. win, win, win in my book -
He sees things differently after being in jail for 12 years or so and getting beat down all that time. Made him stronger maybe??!! And his partner is smokin hot!!!
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Fuck me if I didn't just watch it AGAIN! Definitely a good show. Herc's an idiot.
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And this is coming from a bit gime Sci-Fi nerd that normally does not get into cop drama.
I will be checking out Life for as long as they allow it to be flickering on my TV screen.
Herc needs to give this show another watch me thinks.
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Bionic women is the new Dark Angel. Life was better then I thought it would be, a little slow and the main guy is trying to be a little to Vincent D'Onofrio at times. Best scene so far in all the season premiers and piolets, Mr. Bennet fliping that dweeb on his back. Its good to see someone acting like a bad ass on that show finally.
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I'll stick with it for Damian Lewis.
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I'm a pretty picky television viewer - the only way I catch most shows in the 9:00 CST timeslot is if they're on during or after me and the missus get busy. And usually it's at that point that I do something else with my time.
I liked "Life" and will probably keep watching it. The lead is quirky and likable, the writing is above-average for standard cop-drama and the premise is intriguing. -
I'm just not sure what all you people are smoking to think that Burn Notice and Dexter and this have anything in common other than narration. Obviously, How I Met Your Mother is the same show as It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I mean, there's always a bar in both shows. They're complete carbon copies and should duel to the death for supremacy of the airwaves. TRY LOOKING A LITTLE DEEPER THAN THE 'HOOK' or the 'FORMAT' and maybe you'll actually end up enjoying something for once in your life.
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I didn't mean to insinuate everyone on this site lacks the ability to enjoy "mainstream" entertainment...I was just trying to put my opinion in perspective. The thing that I enjoy about this site is that it is on the "fringe" of the mainstream, however, I think sometimes the mainstream should be appreciated for it's own qualities as well. Hell, I'm a regualar to the site too, so I too have a movie/comic geek swirling inside...I just choose to ride the mainstream wave sometimes! But the major point is, just because it's mainstream doesn't make it bad! Often times I find it to be the opposite...some projects try so hard to cater to the "fanboys" (for lack of a better term), that it just ends up being terrible! nuff said! - "What's with the life preserver...Dork thinks he's gonna drown!"
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I enjoy all three shows, Life, Dexter and Burn Notice. But come on their are WAY to many similarities between the two. Its like Ants and Bugz Life. The are both differetent but both the same.
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And no offense taken really. Glad you liked the show, too. This, Journeyman, Chuck, and Sarah Connor are my four new show "must sees."Crap, I need a life. For real.
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I just can't comprehend your logic. The premise and tone of all three are completely different. They have no more in common with eachother than they do with any Law & Order show (cops) or any show with a voice over. Is Dexter 'strikingly similar' to Veronica Mars? Or My Name is Earl? Sorry, but it's outside the tolerance of my perception to lump these three shows together in any category. Armageddeon and Deep Impact, Dante's Peak and Volcano, Antz and A Bugs Life... Now *there* is some striking similarity.
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